The Met Office has responded to claims the UK could be gripped by "severe snowfall" by Halloween.

WeatherAction, a long-range weather and climate forecasting service said a cold front will bring heavier and longer lasting snow than the Beast from the East earlier in the year.

As we reported yesterday, Piers Corbyn of WeatherAction told the Daily Express: "We are expecting some quite severe snowfall before the end of this month and it will not just be confined to the far north, this could reach parts of the Midlands or even further south.

"This spell of very cold weather looks like bringing substantial snow to a more widespread area of the country than people would necessarily expect at this time of year.

"We are also forecasting some very low temperatures, we could see the record for October broken this year."

Snow drifts near Long Itchington on 11th February 1985

What does the Met Office say?

A spokesperson told BristolLive: "There is, as always at this time of year, a chance there may be some snow over high ground in Scotland and to lower levels in the far north of Scotland.

"Snow is regularly seen over higher ground in Scotland from September onwards.

"However as far as the chance of snow in October is concerned for the rest of the month the weather looks fairly typical for the time of year.

"It is likely to stay generally dry and bright in the south interspersed with spells of more wet and windy weather.

"Temperatures varying around average, but becoming colder as we go through the month with an increasing risk of overnight frosts and fog.

"On the whole temperatures are likely to be rather cold, but some brief milder spells are also possible."